The Last of Us: A Way Out
by iMachine
Summary: A 'The Last of Us: New Leaves' spinoff. A short story that follows two innocent Fireflies and the fear of what might become of them during a merciless military investigation after a Firefly ambush is reigned down on their quarantine zone. Despite having no involvement, they still feel in danger. (Note: You can still follow this fic without having read 'New Leaves' [Hiatus]).
1. Chapter 1 - Association

A Shave and a Haircut, along with two bits were softly knocked on her apartment door. Formerly in the depths of dark-sided thoughts, Sheila picked her head up and stared at her bedroom door until she heard the tune of knocks once again. Sitting on her uncomfortable and tattered mattress, she reached underneath her pillow and pulled out a pistol. She unlocked her bedroom and exited, walking cautiously to her apartment entrance. She uneasily looked through the peephole and saw a face she wasn't exactly excited to see at the moment, but she could deal with it versus someone else. If anything, she was obligated to talk to the person on the other side of her door.

Sheila swung the door open, having a slight gust of wind breeze through the strands of brown hair that sat on her broad shoulders. She looked directly at Zee, a childhood schoolmate, holding her two-year-old daughter,

"Hi!" Zee cheerfully greeted, flashing a bright beautiful smile with her big teeth.

Immediately, Zee was yanked into Sheila's apartment.

* * *

"You seem...uneasy," Zee pointed out,"Everything okay?"

"So, you're gonna act like nothing just happened?" Sheila replied.

Zee shrugged,

"I'm just trying not to look suspicious…"

"Look suspicious? I told already told you before that we have to get out of here," Sheila said across the room, proceeding to look out of her bedroom window. She returned to her fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. She offered Zee, but Zee decided not to. Putting it back in her fridge, Sheila returned to the window once again, "It isn't safe here for us anymore."

Zee played with her daughter's bouncy curls as she carried on, playing with some old and cracked coasters on Sheila's coffee table,

"You mean it isn't safe for _you_ anymore."

"Doesn't any of this bother you? Just a little? Caleb is missing and they killed five Fireflies yesterday," she said, placing up her palm and extending five fingers, "Do you think they cared that any one of them had anything to do with that ambush? It's only a matter of time before they find us out."

"I had nothing to do with what happened last week."

"Look at me," Sheila demanded. Zee, did her a favor by listening, but ultimately looked up uninterested. Noted, Sheila continued "They're going to kill us," Sheila said, being ignored. Zee continued to play with her daughter's curls, in a fat braid amongst the rest. Sheila looked at little Nia and back up at Zee, "Do you want them to make her an orphan?"

"Don't start that," Zee said defensively.

"She already doesn't have a father, Zee, she can't lose her mother too."

"Shut up, Sheila."

"Think about what Reese would want for her."

"I said _Shut._ _The. Hell. Up_."

Zee picked up her daughter and carried her to the exit,

"Zee..." Sheila chased after her,

"You're asking me to take a chance and risk her life out there. Out of the question! But if you want to leave so badly, then you can take your own sorry ass out of here but don't drag my daughter into it! I can't jeopardize my daughter's life out there. If they want to kill me? Fine! But I'm not signing my daughter's death warrant. I can barely take care of her in here, so what makes you think it's going to be better out there in that mad world?" Sheila didn't have the answer to that, so Zee answered it for her, "Maybe this would've been a good idea if she weren't around, but she is now."

Sheila exhaled in exhaustion as Zee ranted. She was the type to easily pick on, but when her mouth got jump started, there was no stopping her. Thankfully, her bark could be a lot worse than her bite.

"Say 'bye-bye aunty Sheila'," Zee said.

"Bye bye audy Sheeva!" Nia repeated.

Sheila held out her arms, asking for a chance to hold her. Clearly annoyed, but careful to not let her feelings get in the way, Zee handed Sheila the baby, and Sheila gave her a big kiss on the forehead and a nice hug before handing her back to Zee. Before Sheila could attempt to speak any more sense into Zee, she exited with a slam, nearly toppling over the entire building

Zee quickly walked down the stairs, clearly bothered by her exchange with Sheila. As she exited the building, she walked across the street and into a skinny pathway that cut directly into one of the sectors she resided in. It was a path where thugs and thieves usually camped, but she didn't mind considering that she use to hang out with some of them in her younger years. As she walked with Nia on her hip, she began to pass multiple vendors, who were licensed to sell fruit. However, fruit wasn't the only thing they would sell.

"Psst, Zee!" Zee heard a voice call out to her.

Zee turned around and saw a young man she knew, Flynt. Flynt was probably a couple years older than Zee, and she had a crush on him all throughout military school, but she eventually lost interest in him until Reese came along and swooped her off her feet and obviously impregnated her. Zee slowly approached him,

"Hey Flynt," Zee smiled softly, "Sorry, didn't see you there."

"You alright?" Flynt asked, seeing something a little off about her.

"Just a lot of my mind. This ambush has everyone losing their minds…"

"Yeah...I heard they're investigated people about it. Fireflies, even people who talk about it too much…"

"What do you mean?" Zee asked, readjusting Nia on her other hip.

"Remember Rodrick?" As Zee shook her head, Flynt felt the need to remind her, "Rodrick? The guy that would give out the counterfeit ration card?"

"Oh, yeah…" Zee twisted her body looking at Rodrick's booth, where he would usually sell his 'goods', "What happened to him?"

"We haven't seen him in two days. He was talking about the ambush so much, saying how he wants to get out of here and stirring up a whole bunch of controversy and conspiracy theories. Then just a couple of days ago, someone from his sector said they saw him getting dragged out of his apartment by the military."

"Was he a Firefly?" Zee asked. She knew the answer, but did it just to be safe..

"Rodrick? Nah, dude only has one leg...what makes you think he's Firefly material?"

Zee shrugged, following a hard gulp once she heard the sound of walkie talkie transmissions coming from just outside the alleyway. With Nia resting on her shoulder, she looked over to see two armed soldiers walking down the alleyway, armed and geared to the nitty gritty. Zee nervously looked away as Rodrick did the same immediately putting together a bag of items.

"Here are your fruits miss, enjoy your day," Rodrick performed, giving her a bag of unrequested reached in her pocket and pulled out some ration cards, but Rodricks quickly held her fist shut, "It's on the house; for the baby," Rodrick winked.

Zee nodded in appreciation and gave an uneasy smile. Carefully, she backed out through the same way she came in, just to avoid being followed by the military soldiers. Another way home would seem ideal.

* * *

Zee looked over her shoulder her entire walk home. She was so tense that even baby Nia could tell. A mother and her daughter had that type of connection, however, it was unfortunate for Nia since it meant an uncomfortable walk home. For the first time in years, Zee felt uncomfortable without a gun and regretted leaving her mini revolver in her jewelry box.

Placing Nia down to stretch her little legs, Zee was proud to tell her little girl that they were almost home. Turning the corner that led them there, Zee was shocked to see two cuffed people being escorted out of her building. They weren't people she knew personally, but they were people she recognized as neighbors. There was a look of curiosity that she shared with other pedestrians nearby. She didn't feel like an outcast until she overheard someone saying, "Those damn Fireflies. They all deserved to be killed,"but Zee knew for a fact that her neighbors being dragged out weren't Fireflies, so the joke was on them. Everyone was a target here.

"Shit…" Zee said quietly to herself.

"Shit!" Nia innocently repeated, figuring it must've been a swear. When mommy randomly exclaimed words for not a lot of reasons, usually shock or pain, Nia knew it was a swear.

"The only times you want to mock me, huh?" Zee said, keeping her eyes on her apartment entrance.

Zee camped on the outside porch of a nearby building, giving the notion that she lived there instead of the attraction she truly lived in. She waiting until the hotspot cleared up. Checking her wristwatch, she realized that ten minutes had passed since she last saw a military soldier. A couple of residents of the building she sat at looked at her mysteriously when they either entered or exited the building, wondering who the hell she was. To avoid digging a deeper shit-hole for herself, Zee quickly stood up and walked across towards her apartment with Nia. Holding her bag of fruits in one hand and her daughter's hand in the other, Zee was frightened by a military soldier overseeing the check-in counter.

Nervously, her bag dropped. An oranges, two pears and an apple rolled apart into different areas of the room. Like a game, Nia instantly chased after the pear, which rolled up and hit the soldier's foot. Zee, already gathered up the other fruits on her own and watched Nia carefully and anxiously, but she kept cool nonetheless. Carrying the largest sniper rifle she had ever seen, the soldier patted Nia's head and gave a light chuckle. His entire body, even his face was covered by gear, leaving on his eyes visible.

"Come here baby," Zee called.

Nia backed away from the towering man and turned around,

"Here, mama," Nia said, putting the pear in the opened plastic bag.

Zee thanked her daughter and lifted her,

"I love kids," the commented.

"Do you?" Zee said, pretending to be interested. At this point, she would do whatever she could to not seem like a suspect, "Have any of your own."

After a small pause the soldier spoke,

" _Had_ one. A daughter. Five years old when it happened."

"I'm sorry to hear that..."

"Yeah. We all have lost someone one way or another. Is it just you and her?" Zee nodded. After an awkward moment of silence occurred, the soldier remembered what his responsibilities were and turned to the desk behind him, "Do you live here?" The soldier suddenly asked, sounding muffled behind his mouth cover.

"I-I do…"

"Name please?"

"Zeezanna-Isabel Noble."

The soldier looked down at the checkout book on the lobby desk. The book had every resident's, from the building, name listed in it. The soldier located her name with ease, undoubtedly seeing that Zee had last checked out of her apartment an hour ago and that she often got frequent visits from Sheila and rarely anyone else. It wasn't out of the ordinary. In times like this, it was actually common to keep your circle of friends very close and limited, however, it just meant that Sheila was probably going to be next in this investigation if they happened to find anything suspicious.

"Zeezanna-Isabel?" The soldier repeated questionably. Zee nodded, expecting that reaction from almost anyone she told, "Does it mean anything?"

Zee shook her head and all the soldier could do was nod as if he wanted something more than that,

"People just call me Zee…"

The soldier nodded,

"I like that…"

"Okay, Ms. Zee. You and that little princess can go upstairs now. Just be prepared to be questioned and have your apartment searched in the next hour or so, okay?" Seeing Zee nod, he felt the need to add something "There's nothing to be nervous about...we aren't all bad."

Zee forced a smile and walked past him, heading to the stairs.

"Bye bye!" Nia said as she vanished up the stairs in her mother's arms.


	2. Chapter 2 - Guilty

A telephone: Something that would've came in handy at a time like this. Electronics weren't extinct, nothing technically was. They were just extremely hard to aquire with lack of resources. Yes, certain parts of the quarantine zones were wired up with working lights, fridges and etc. However, they didn't allow anyone to have telephones; things that seemed like they would be granting people too much freedom. Mail wasn't prohibited, but it was highly moderated. People rarely wrote to one another because everyone knew the government read their letters even though they claimed not to.

Zee cleaned every time she was nervous, and it tied in very well together since she was expecting unwanted company. She picked up the few toys Nia had and washed the very couple of dishes that were left to soak in the sink. She swept the floors and wiped the bathroom mirror—very sporadic cleaning that consisted of jumping from one unrelated task to the next. Eventually, they was nothing left to do but sulk in her own anxiety. She couldn't sit still, so she walked into the living room and rested on the wall, watching Nia in complete wonder.

Baby Nia laid on a small rug in the center of the living room. She scribbled in her coloring book with the eight mediocre crayons Zee fortunately found lying around in the quarantine zone. When Nia happened to look up at her, Zee saw the perfect mixture of her and Reese's DNA. Brown skin, thick & dark curls, the cutest button nose and almond shaped eyes. Nia had so much of her father in her, that there were nights Zee would just stare at her daughter's face while she were napping just to get a refreshment of how he looked.

Words couldn't explain how much Zee yearned for Reese's touch. With everything that was currently going on, all she needed was for Reese to be there to comfort her. He was so great at putting up a front around others, but he was especially a comic around her. He knew exactly what to do or say to make her feel better...and she needed that right now. She daydreamed, biting the nail of her finger into oblivion. After a good snip, she yanked her hand away and looked at her thumb, seeing a tiny bit of blood ooze from the nailbed. She walked into the bathroom and opened up her cabinets—a first aid kit being the only thing there. After bandaging her finger, she heard a knock on her apartment door. Nervously jumping from fright, the first aid box fell to the floor, having many of it contents fall everywhere,

"Who is it?" Zee shouted from the bathroom.

"Ms…" the stranger stumbled a bit, "Zeezanna-Isabel? We're here to ask you a few questions like we said we would?"

Zee cursed quietly, obviously unhappy with the entire situation,

"Just...give me a minute please!" Zee said, quickly picking up the fallen contents from the floor and stuffing them into the first aid box. It was so unevenly packed, that the box could no longer be shut, "Ugh, whatever…" she scoffed, getting up from the bathroom floor. She closed the door behind her and walked towards her apartment door. Opening it, she saw three armed soldiers in military gear; none which she recognized. Comparing height and body mass, they were almost identical.

"May we come in ma'am?" One of the soldiers asked as if she had a choice.

Zee took a quick glimpse at his name tag. _Earls_ , she read in her head.

"Sure," Zee said.

She stepped aside as she opened the door wider, welcoming them into her apartment. Out of the three soldiers, two stepped in while the other remained outside her apartment door. One was a man and the other was a woman, both white and seemingly friendly. As they walked further into her apartment, she took a silent breath that was equivalent to a deep one. If there was anything Zee excelled at, it was keeping calm under pressure. Closing the door behind her was like sealing herself in a cage with two unpredictable animals. Walking into the living room, she asked Nia to go into their bedroom and wait until mommy was finished with her interview...as if Nia even knew what an interview was.

"Would you like to sit?" Zee kindly offered, trying her best to remain on their good side in case anything unwanted happened.

"There's no need, we won't be here long," Earls said.

"Unless you're hiding something…" the other chucked, hoping to lighten the mood. The woman soldier passed in her own mind, but failed in Zee's.

Zee looked at her name tag quickly and saw the name "Gilbert".

"So do you know why we're here?" Earls asked, taking out a notepad.

Although she was afraid, Zee fought to give them eye contact, but not too much to the point where it didn't seem like she was sizing them up,

"I'm sure it's about what happened these past two weeks. That explosion?"

"Is that all you heard about it?"

Zee knew there were Fireflies involved, but she wasn't going to say that. The more ignorant she seemed, the better,

"I just know that it was an explosion. Probably terrorists?" Zee shrugged.

"Can you recall where you were when it happened?"

"Home. I was putting-" Zee smoothy caught herself from saying her daughter's name, "-my daughter. I was putting her to sleep."

"She was scared I bet, huh?" Gilbert genuinely asked.

"She wouldn't stop crying," she watched the soldiers faces, as if they wanted to hear more. People were devoid of emotions in a world today, but children were a powerful enough topic to be a soft spot, "The scariest thing is seeing your daughter so afraid, but I had to remain strong. For her."

They both nodded in approval. After a split second, they both gave enough a unanimous yet discreet look.

"We're going to search your apartment now, okay?" Earls informed after looking away.

Zee slowly nodded to concealed her nervousness. She called Nia out of the bedroom and held her close to her legs as the soldiers investigated everywhere. Once they vanished into her bedroom, Zee's breathing picked up. She gulped and closed her eyes, praying that they wouldn't find a thing. They weren't things considered "evidence", but they were things that could get you into a lot of trouble, things that every household was permitted from having.

Hearing footsteps come closer to the doorway, Zee opened her eyes. Instantly, she noticed her shabby coat hanger standing by the entrance of her apartment. Accompanied with her flimsy gray cardigan was a copper colored firefly pendant. Just as she was about to release a loud gasp, she was thrown off and distracted by the soldiers exiting her bedroom. As they both walked out, Zee could sense that Earls was a bit unsatisfied. Probably because he knew that _everyone_ was hiding something; which was correct, but failed to locate it.

"Alright Ms. Zeezanna-Isabel. Looks like your good to go."

"Zee. Zee is fine," she said reluctantly, doing whatever she could to stop them from looking at the coat hanger, "Would you both like some water? I-I know you both are very hot in that get-up."

Both of the soldiers looked at one another, almost surprised by the kindness. It couldn't have been sudden from Zee because she naturally came across as a hospitable person. It was probably just rare to receive from a civilian. However, her current situation translated it more into bravery if anything else. Keeping herself "locked" in this tense cage was something others couldn't do for this long.

"That's very kind of you Ms. Zee," Gilbert thanked, "We _are_ burning up."

Zee walked over to her mini fridge—her only fridge in the entire apartment. She opened it, seeing a couple of sandwiches wrapped in aluminum foil and one final bottle of water. She scoffed, eventually informing the soldiers that it would have to be split between the both of them. Equally pouring out the water into plastic cups, she offered it to the both of them, which they happily accepted.

With the soldier's definitely distracted and their nerves quenched, this was Zee's chance to act first. She quickly walked towards her apartment door and opened it, beating the quickness and sharpness of the soldiers eyes. Once she pulled it open, the coat hanger was successfully hidden behind the door. Surprised by the reminder that there was another officer guarding just outside her doorway, she tensely stepped aside to let the others exit her home. Nosey, yet troubled, neighbors walked by, impressed to see that Zee hadn't been dragged out by the hair like the others.

"Thank you for your time, ma'am," Earls said with a gracious and subtle nod, "The water was refreshing."

"You're welcome," Zee replied softly. Her smile was definitely forced and she prepared to push the door shut as they walked away, "Have a good night."

* * *

The same evening, Zee was chopping up some saved fruits and veggies in her candle lit home. Her plan was to make a tasty salad with some grapes. Zee eagerly wanted to live the life of a vegetarian, but she couldn't because of the rations; they were already so optionless. Plus, natural vegetables were something hard to come by since the quarantine zones didn't really allow farming and harvesting. There were some gardeners that grew a few vegetables here and there, and Zee knew exactly where to go to nab some. She didn't feel guilty. She had a child to feed and others did it all the time.

Doing what was normally her favorite activity, she thought about the visit. Stressfully placing the knife down on the cutting board, tears welled up in her eyes. She placed her head down and made sure the tears didn't get into any of the food.

She turned around to check if Nia had noticed anything—she was asleep on the couch, completely unbothered and unaware. Living the life of a three year old seemed a lot more preferable. She didn't have the stomach to admit it, but Sheila was right. Even more so, Zee had felt the same way before her confrontation with her stern friend. Zee stepped close to a small office lamp on her counter and checked the time: 8:03 PM. There was an fifty-seven minutes left until curfew.

She looked back at Nia who was still sound asleep, drowning out basic sounds with her soft snores. Zee grabbed her apartment keys from the kitchen table and exited her apartment, leaving the door open behind her. She walked two doors down and knocked a neighbor's door, crossing her arms and standing with notable impatience. Just as she was about to knock once again, Zee quickly pulled her head away and rested it on her forehead after seeing her neighbor's face,

"Hi, Zee."

"Hi, Vicky. Is Wes there? I was wondering if he could watch Nia for a couple of minutes while I run out. It's sort of an emergency…"

Vicky called Wes too the doorway, her teenage son, to the door. Having a Polish mother and a Filipino father was something that heavily contributed to the way he looked. He had dark hair, olive colored skin and freckles around his nose. All the boy ever did was listen to music on his walkman, read and smoke weed. She never caught him smoking, but Zee just knew, she was a teenager once too. He was a complete apocalyptic hippie. However, he was one of the most obedient children Zee had ever come across considering the way she was raised and who she was raised around. It was why Zee trusted him alone with her daughter. Plus, he reminded her of Reese. Wes came out of his home and closed the door behind him, knowing Zee's request beforehand

"Hey, Ms. Zee," he greeted respectfully.

Zee couldn't help but smile. She placed her arm around his shoulder, something a 'cool' mom would do,

"Hey, Wes. Honey, I'm running out really quick. I need you to watch Nia for me. Is that okay with you?"

"Sure," he said, standing by her doorway. But before Zee could make her escape, Wes spoke again, "But Ms. Zee, it's almost curfew…"

"It'll be very quick. She's asleep, but if she wakes up, just give her some of the fruits I already cut up for her in the fridge. You can have some too if you want, sweetie," she said while walking off, "And be careful not to touch the knife on the counter."

Zee was officially out of sight once she took a sharp turn out of the hallway. Wes looked at the Zee's apartment, and took a frightening double take at Nia, who was rubbing her eyes and yawning by the doorway.

"Mama..." Nia's voice cracked.

"Mommy's gonna be right back, okay?" Wes calmed.

Picking her up, he walked inside and closed the door shut with his foot.

* * *

Zee quickly walked through the streets. She walked through the very same alleyways that served as a shortcut to Sheila's home. She saw familiar faces, all walking towards the opposite direction with the desire to get home before some soldiers caught them loitering. She felt at risk, that was for sure, but this was all for her daughter and the legacy of her lover.

Finally making it to Sheila's apartment, Zee quickly checked in at the front desk,

"No visitors at this time, Zee, you know that," A voice full of bass said from behind the counter.

"I understand, Malik, but it's really important," Zee walked away from the counter and continued up the stairs, "Sorry!" she shouted.

She quickly ran up to the second floor, breathing heavily and having sweat run down her visible chest. She walked down the hallway, which was entirely teal with ugly beige tiled floors. She knocked on the door marked with the symboles '2-G' on it. Knocking rather frantically, Sheila eventually answered and partially opened the door,

"What are you doing here?"

"Let me in…" Zee demanded breathlessly.

"I can't do that right now," Sheila said, obviously still drowsy, "What is it?"

They whispered back and forth,

"It's an emergency. It's about what we spoke about yesterday."

Sheila sighed,

"Where's Nia?" Sheila searched.

"The neighbor's son I told you about? He's watching her."

Sheila let out a soft groan,

"Hold on, let me put on some pants."

The door was instantly closed in Zee's face. She stood outside, again, bouncing around impatiently with her arms crossed. Once Sheila's door could be heard being unlatched from the other side, Zee immediately pushed himself inside. Zee began speaking frantically, causing Sheila to do the same. They both whispered sharply at each other, almost trying to see who could whisper the loudest and be the best oxymoron. After Sheila locked the door, she was shocked by the words she could almost make out in the mumbo jumbo of sentences. She instantly threw herself onto Zee, covering her mouth once she heard the word "Fire" escape her lips,

Zee fought Sheila's hand off of her mouth and looked at her in bewilderment

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you acting so strange…?"

The last bit of her sentence faded once she saw a man exiting Sheila's bathroom. He was in nothing but some tight, red underwear. It was epitome of an awkward moment. With her back facing him, Sheila winced and kept her eyes shut since there was no way avoid the embarrassment and judgement altogether. The man, stood frozen by the bathroom with his one hand on the doorknob and the other over his crotch, clearly torn between running back in or awkwardly introducing himself in his underwear. Zee tried looking the other way since he was in her full view, but hoping to eventually use it as something to laugh over, Zee was surprised to see that it was Earls—the soldier who interrogated her and investigated her home. More afraid than ashamed at this point, Zee just stared at him. He gave an obvious look of suspicion, probably hoping to give her a scare, but she was already past that.

"A-are you staring at him?" Sheila questioned under her breath, offended once she looked at Zee.

"I'm just gonna go," Earls declared, running into Sheila's bedroom.

 _I know him,_ Zee mouthed.

 _What?_ Sheila mouthed back.

 _I. Know. Him,_ Zee mouthed more aggressively, putting her entire body into it.

"Zeezanna-Isabel, I have no idea what you're saying," Sheila said aloud, crossing her arms and looking away.

Zee threw up her arms, completely stunned that this was actually happening right now. What was this, some corny rom com?

Earls finally came out of Sheila's bedroom. It was obvious that he braced himself before stepping out, but didn't realize that the women had noticed him. Finally walking out in uniform, he smirked and gave Sheila a kiss on the cheek before exchanging a untranslatable look with Zee. He awkwardly smiled before waving goodbye one last time and closed the door behind him. Zee quickly looked through the peephole of the door and watched Earls walk away from the door. Once he was out of sight, she placed her ear against the door to hear his heavy boots depart.

"Are you crazy? He's military," Zee finally spat.

"Really? I totally missed the part where I helped take off his uniform,"

Zee ignored Sheila's smug attitude,

"I know him!"

"What?" Sheila said, looking a bit disgusted, "How?"

"I came to tell you that I was interrogated and searched by the military today," Sheila's mouth dropped. Anticipating that reaction, Zee continued, " _He_ was one of them."

"You're joking? Shit," Sheila cursed, walking off. She turned back around, "Well, I'm guessing they didn't find anything since you're still here?"

"Just barely. I almost slipped up today. I would've been dead. They looked at the apartment log books and I figured they'd be coming after you next."

"They were. He came to warn me."

"He came to warn you?"

"We...We've been seeing each other for a while now."

Zee scoffed,

"And you always called me the weaker one…"

"Can we not do this right now?" Sheila asked, rubbing her face in frustration.

She was clearly bothered by the entire situation and Zee knew the feeling,

"I'm sorry," Zee apologized. After a long paused she spoke again, "Does he know…"

"What? That I'm a Firefly?" Sheila cut off, "Hell no," Sheila scratched the back of her neck, "He can't know that. I don't know how he'd take it."

"But he came to warn you, Sheila. You can use that to your advantage."

"He came for _sex_ , Zee!" Sheila aggressively said. Zee remained quiet, unable to counter that argument, "That's all it is," Sheila confidently clarified.

"How do you feel about him?"

"That's not important," Sheila dismissed, "...What else did you come to tell me?"

Zee hesitated,

"About earlier. You were right, it isn't safe here...and I've known all along, but I've just been too afraid of what could happen to Nia. So I've decided that I want to leave. But if _anything_ -" her voice began to crack,"If _anything_ happens to Nia, that's blood on your hands. Do you understand me?"

"That isn't fair Zee," Sheila defended.

"And why not?!"

"Because that means Ariel's blood is on your hands too," Zee was stunned to hear those words come out of Sheila's mouth, "Both of ours!"

"No, no, no!" Zee was now breaking out into full on sobs, "I was against going out that night and you know it! I lost everyone I loved that night! Saul, Ariel, Reese…!"

"Oh, spare me the tears…"

"...You!"

"Me?" Sheila questioned over Zee's chatter, "Wait, hold on, Zee. What do you mean me? I'm right here."

Zee sniffled,

"Forget it."

Unless it wasn't obvious by now, Zee and Sheila were never the best of friends. Their friendship was built on a horrible history, and that seemed to be it. Even now, it seemed like they were only in this together because they were all each other had. The night of Reese's death, Sheila was the only one there to comfort her, so because of that, Zee felt like she was in debt to her. The only issue was that Zee never knew how to repay her for showing such support that night and the following months she grieved. They had grown close, but it was almost by force, and too much force on something as stiff as their relationship would eventually snap—they just wondered when it would happen. Another silence came between the two.

Zee looked down at her watch: 8:32 PM.

"I have to get home…" Zee sniffed, patting her cheeks dry.

"Offer still stands if you really want to do this…" Sheila said just before she could leave.

Zee stood by the door and looked at her, aware that this decision would ultimately determine her and her daughter's future,

"I do…" she nodded.

"Then we're gonna have to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"...T-tomorrow morning?" Zee stammered.

"My place is a goldmine for them. I can't stay here. They'll find guns, pendants, wanted posters, all they'll see is that I've been hoarding and hiding all this Firefly shit. Once they find this stuff, they're coming after you no doubt. You're my number one visitor and Earls just saw you here."

"You're right…" Zee understood.

"I have a car hidden in some old shed outside the zone. If you want to hitch a ride with me, you have to make that choice tonight. Pack your things and remember that it's a zoo out there. You're gonna have to kill whether you want to or not..."

Zee shuddered at the thought of it: The blood, the snarls, the teeth and the worst of them all; the eyes. The last time she saw an infected was when she snuck out of the school at teenager that dreadful night, and she never wanted to experience those critters up close ever again.

"Okay…" Zee said apprehensively.

"Before you go…" Sheila walked into her living room and grabbed a compact cassette from the very top of her empty bookshelf, "For your neighbor's kid you told me about. Give it to him as a reward for watching Nia all those times…I know it's tight for you so you can't always give him something."

Zee grabbed it and rotated it in her hand,

"What's on it?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I found it in the trash, but it's better than nothing."

Zee thanked her and smiled.

"...Did you see his face when he walked out?" Zee randomly brought up.

"Who?"

"Earls. He was _beet red_ , girl!"

Zee didn't want to be the first to laugh, but her face was almost changing colors itself from wanting to laugh so desperately. When Sheila finally let out a mild chuckle, it was enough to set Zee off. They laughed with one another until it shortly died out. And that was all Zee wanted before they departed that night. She turned to the door and nodded while giving a small wave. However, once she opened the door, Sheila felt the need to tell her one final thing,

"By the way, Nia has nothing to worry about. She has us to protect her. I'll always be there for you and her no matter what. And...I know it's not what you want to hear, but if anything happens, I'll always be there to look after her."

Zee gave a brittle smile, unable to convey any real pleasure from that sentence. Fully emerging into the hallway, Zee closed the door behind her without saying a word and headed home.


	3. Chapter 3 - Escape

It was early in the morning. Zee had a difficult time sleeping and ended up getting only fours hours of rest because there was so much on her mind. Getting up out of bed, her dreadlocks were loose, becoming mysteriously unfastened from the bun she was certain she had last night and the last three days. Nia, thankfully, got the full amount of sleep she deserved.

Zee stood up and pulled out her two bags from underneath the bed. An average sized pack for Nia, filled with clothes and diapers, and another backpack for her: Filled with about two shirts and a pair of black cargos, but more diapers and toiletries for Nia. Digging through the bags made her all the more nervous. Since this would be her last day here, Zee found a new appreciation she never had before for her home. She entered the bathroom and washed herself up, scrubbing every inch of her body with some unscented soap, since this might be her very last time to ever cleanse herself. She walked out of the bathroom, wearing denim jeans, a plain white tee with a wide v-neck and her thin grey cardigan.

Nia was bathed and dressed from the night before so it wouldn't be a hassle to dress her in this morning, because she was prone to crankiness. Her hair, just like her mother's was pulled back into an easy pony tail. On her tiny little wrist was a small bracelet. Everything else was usually so dull, and to stand out in all that dullness, Zee gave Nia a bracelet with highly angular, pale pink, blue and purple stones.

* * *

It seems like all Zee needed was a quick clean up since that was all it took to knock her out on her sofa. Suddenly, the next thing she could remember was hearing a Shave and a Haircut, but without the two bits, on her apartment door. Zee opened her eyes and turned over to face the sound of it, having her opened book of crossword puzzles and sudoku fall off her chest. Her eyes shifted around the apartment. It was still dark, but the night sky was notably beginning get bluer through the partially opened louvers. She heard another knock identical to the first and Zee sat up. She took the longest path to the door, checking on Nia on her way there-she was still asleep. She opened the door, certain that it was Sheila. Proven correct, Zee carelessly walked away and allowed Sheila to let herself inside. She wore a t-shirt with black and white stripes and black jeans a pair of old sneakers. She closed the door while watching Zee's body language. Zee dragged her feet with every step she took and she looked like she were about to pass out,

Zee threw herself on her sofa and sat there, rubbing her hands together between the spread of her legs,

"What time is it?" Zee asked.

"Twenty minutes after five," Sheila whispered softly.

Zee groaned and rested her head back,

"Did you get any sleep…?" Sheila asked, quite annoyed.

"Barely. I just got an extra hour."

"Neither did I," She bit her bottom lip before speaking again, "Yesterday was the most paranoid I had ever been in my life. Every time I laid in bed, I kept getting up to wash my face and look outside my window."

Sheila looked over at Zee and could tell that even paying attention was extremely difficult for her. Being a mother was draining, and sleepless nights were something more than occasional. Zee was lucky to have her good days, but it was unfortunately pretty bad for the last couple of weeks,

"...Oh," Zee replied with a delay.

Momentarily keeping her eyes on Zee, she walked towards Zee's bedroom, which wasn't too far off from her apartment entrance. Sheila was delighted to see Nia asleep and unharmed. Sheila backed away from the doorway and looked at Zee,

"How does an extra hour of sleep sound?"

"...That sounds perfect," Zee responded, stretching out on the sofa like before.

"Alarm your wristwatch," Sheila said, walking into Zee's bedroom.

Unsure if Zee heard her or not, Sheila took off her boots and slowly crawled onto Zee's mattress. She laid beside Nia, resting her head on the pillow and looking up at Zee's chipped up ceiling. She couldn't believe they were going through with this. It may she like she didn't care, but this particular task was something that would undoubtedly weigh heavy on her heart after they left the zone. It was already starting. She convinced her comrade to abandon a zone with her two year old daughter. Sheila thought of all the possible outcomes. Who knows, maybe there could be a chance for Zee after all? Who's to say that Zee wouldn't be a suspect if Sheila disappeared? Maybe the military wouldn't suspect a thing and Nia and Zee could live a safe life and grow older together. But as the thoughts lingered, they eventually faded.

* * *

Afterward, Sheila woke up to a couple of sounds going off around her. She felt a pressure on her stomach, and as she looked forward, she saw Nia sitting on her stomach while Zee wandered around her bedroom, frantically searching for something. Sheila gave a wide smile while Nia smiled back through her pacifier. Sheila looked at the bright skies and quickly sat up, carefully lifting and removing Nia,

"What time is it? Why didn't you wake me?" Sheila panicked.

"Relax," Zee said, slamming her drawers one by one, "It's only 6:30."

"What are you looking for?"

"Bullets...but I can't remember where I put them."

"Don't worry about it. I have enough for us at the shed. We have to get goin-" Sheila paused once she noticed the two backpacks in Zee's possession, "Where are you going with those?"

"What?" Zee looked over, putting a couple of loose locs behind her ear.

"The bookbags!" Sheila aggressively pointed. Zee was afraid of this and waited to see if it was what she anticipated, "You really think those soldiers are gonna let you wander around with those bags without searching you?!"

"Not so loud," Zee shushed. The drain in Sheila's face was clear as day, "It's not my fault I don't sneak around the zone every chance I get, how was I supposed to know?"

"Well, if you attended the Firefly meetings like you swore to attend, you'd know we have secret place for things like that. You're supposed to take things one at a time and collect it down there. It's underground."

"Shit," Zee said, obviously guilted to be disappointed in herself "Then what do we do now…?"

Sheila looked over at Nia, who was obviously engaged and trying to understand what was going on between the frustrated pair. Suddenly, Sheila looked over and saw a massive box of diapers shoved underneath one of the tables in Zee's room. Zee obviously followed her gaze before their eyes could meet,

"I don't even have to ask. You're definitely thinking what I'm thinking," Sheila smirked.

* * *

Zee walked throughout her home, looking at all the things she was unable to take with her: Her favorite painting, her beloved coffee table, everything she had obtained from her illegal dumpster dives.. She closed her eyes, fighting her absolute hardest to avoid tears,

"You've got to remain strong…" she said to herself, giving a soft exhale through her mouth, "remain strong…"

Zee bent down and grabbed her large box of diapers. The box itself had 'diapers' labeled across it on all four sides in large black letters; it was government owned. Pregnancies were best to be avoided in quarantine zones, but you'd be surprised by how often women changed their mind in order to start a family. The government established some sort of modern day WIC for women with children, and it was honestly very helpful, getting free diapers and toiletries. But those days would be a part of the past in a couple of hours.

Fitting her fingers into the grip-holes through the top of the box, holding it like some sort of oversized handbag, Zee lifted it and headed to her opened doorway. Entering the hallway, she closed the door behind her and rested her palm on her door for quite some time. Putting down the box, she walked to one of her neighbor's doors and knocked it a couple of times. Fortunately, Wes opened the door. An aroma of marijuana hit Zee in the face like something she always remembered from school, like a punch she had gotten before from a previous bully.

"Hey, Ms. Zee," Wes said.

"Hey, Wes!" Zee smiled cheerfully. She smiled and leaned on the doorway with her arms crossed, "How are you?"

"Good. Need me to watch Nia?"

"No, honey bun, not today. I just...came to say hi," said said, actually meaning the opposite, "Are you parents around?"

"Nah. I think dad was listed to help out at the rations pantry and my mom's doing some community work around the zone."

"What kind of community work?"

Wes scooped his long hair underneath the lining of his cap,

"I think she said something about...painting over graffiti? Something like that."

"Oh, okay…that's cool," Zee said, sounding relieved.

"I really like the cassette you gave me by the way."

"Oh, how was it? Did you give it a listen?"

"Yeah. Dad listened to it and he said something about a woman named Janet Jackson? Her jams are pretty sick. I never really listened to a woman artist before. She's really good."

Zee smiled,

"Cool. Well…" Zee said, fighting back tears again, "I just wanted to thank you for all the times you've been there for me. Watching Nia."

Wes chuckled,

"It's no problem. I really like watching her. She's like a sister to me," Zee laughed, and looked down at her shoes,"Ms. Zee…" Zee looked up at him, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Wes. Yeah," Zee repositioned the heel of her shoes as she leaned on the wall, "I just wanted to let you know that you're a very good kid in a very bad world...and don't let anyone change you okay? Always remain close to the ones you love," Wes nodded, not thinking much of a random speech since parent's always seemed to do it. Zee wasn't old, but she _was_ a parent, "Do you have friends in school, Wes?"

Wes nodded.

"Are they...for the lack of a better word, rebellious? Class clowns?"

"Yeah...sometimes. My best friend is like that."

"Be their voice of reason, okay? Don't always let them influence you, but make sure they make the right decisions. Look out for them, okay?"

"Okay," Wes nodded.

Zee gave Wes one final hug and said goodbye, having him completely unaware that it would be their last,

"If you happen to get a visit from anyone, deny _anything_ that has to do with me…understand?" As Wes almost opened his mouth to say something, Zee spoke over him, "To keep you and your family safe, just do as I say. Okay?"

Wes nodded reluctantly without asking another question. She picked up her box of diapers and headed towards the stairs.

As she walked down, she was one staircase away from the main floor. She took a deep breath, knowing that her apartment was no longer what it use to be. After seeing one of the people responsible for the apartment check-ins, get dragged out, Zee knew it was only a matter of time before they found a replacement.

Zee walked down the stairs, and the sight of the main floor came into sight, raising like the curtains of a play or the tide of an ocean. A military guard, with more casual-looking clothing, stood beside the check-in desk with a holstered handgun on his right hip. He was attractive looking, probably one of the most attractive guards Zee had ever seen. She blushed at the sight of him, but remembered that he was still a danger. She walked through the broken metal detectors by the stairs, having no choice but to pass by in order to sign out of the building. She carefully rested her diapers down to avoid giving any tip that it was heavier than just any box of diapers. Zee reached for the pen over the counter and signed the book, marking her full name right underneath Sheila's in cursive. Afterward, she straightened her posture and glanced over at the guard who smoothly looked away from her derriere.

Although it wasn't her intention, she could at least hope that it made things awkward. She resumed picking up her box and walked towards the exit when suddenly…

"Miss," The soldier referred to her. Zee turned around, almost horrified, "I have to check your box," he said, thinking nothing of her popular reaction.

Zee stuttered,

"It's just diapers,"

"I can see that, but it's protocol, ma'am."

"Are you going to reseal it after you cut it open?

The soldier nodded. He casually walked behind the counter and presented an unused roll of tape.

She could have either ignored him or ran, but that would only result to her getting a bullet in the back. She rested her box of diapers on a seperate table used for searching. It was called a 'search table'. The soldier whipped out a box cutter and carefully cut through the tape.

Zee's wide eyes stared at the box the entire time as he lifted the flaps. Everything else around her became silent and her eyes rung like a bomb went off right in front of her. Her breathing picked up, her chest rose and fell, she felt like she had been caught red-handed before it even happened. She had no idea what was going on, but it was like every chemical reaction was going off her head. Then…

"...Excuse me," she heard fade into earshot, "Excuse me."

Zee jumped and looked up at the soldier, sloppily resealing her package.

"...Hm?" Zee answered quite dazed.

"I said you're good to go," he watched her concerned, "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah. Just been daydreaming a lot recently," she said, thinking quickly on her feet.

Thankfully as the soldier taped the package, it gave Zee some time to focus and regain composition from her panic attack. Once he was finished, she placed his tape down and rested both of his palms on the table. He looked Zee up and down, sizing her up for her frame and hips. She would've been fine with it at first, but it became something new. Once she rested her hand on her box to leave, the soldier did the same,

"Wait, wait…" the soldier said softly, "What's your name?"

Zee almost began freaking out again.

"What?"

"I just think you're really cute and wanna get to know you since you live here. You in a hurry?"

He was tall, sort of stocky and racially ambiguous. He looked like someone either of mixed Latino or Eurasian descent. It was hard to tell.

"Sort of," Zee answered, uninterested after what happened.

"You live here?" Zee nodded, "When will you be back?"

"Soon. I'm staying over at a friend for a while. She's watching my daughter and she forgot the diapers."

"Well, I'll be here until tonight, so...maybe you and I can talk a bit and get to know each other?"

"Sure…" Zee said.

She gave a disingenuous smile and took her box without a moment's thought. She practically ran to the exit and rushed down the steps. As she walked across the major street in front of her apartment building, she looked up at the skies. The weather was fitting and symbolic for her emotions. The skies were grey & cloudy and the smell of incoming rain was in the air.

* * *

The plan was to meet somewhere else far out from where both Sheila and Zee resided. But it was off-limits in Zee's book. She didn't favor it, but she really had no other choice. She walked and walked almost three sectors past her own until she approached the forbidden place: Their old military school.

The building was now abandoned, but if Zee could recall, it had technically always felt that way. In terms of maintenance, the school was never tended to. Any place with a bunch of hormone frenzied, wild and defiant teens was prone to massive destruction. Pipes in the bathroom were burst until the only restroom available was the one in the schools scariest basement. Asbestos was discovered in the inner-layers of walls, putting certain classrooms off limits. It was all active since Zee and Sheila last dropped out, but it looks like the place basically became uninhabitable. It was the only conclusion anyone could come to.

Before memories could become somber, she was startled by a military soldier who seemed to be staring at her from afar. She was a woman, looking almost as if her and Zee could be cousins-she was armed with some type of machine gun,

"This place is off limits," the woman refreshed.

Zee nodded,

"Sorry. I-I just use to come here as a teenager," Zee excusing herself.

The woman stared at her for a while,

"You a soldier? Never seen you around here."

"Uh, no, I dropped out," Zee stammered with embarrassment, covering it up with a nervous smile.

"Hm...okay, get out of here," the soldier finally dismissed.

The soldier become completely uninterested at that moment and walked off, clearly to avoid having a conversation with a dropout. In the eyes of a military soldier, it was disrespectful to choose living a shit underprivileged life rather than to work with the military, and Zee knew she unintentionally gave that message across.

Zee scoffed and turned around, preparing to walk herself closeby. As she took a step, she heard a ' _pssst!_ ' Zee turned around and saw Sheila peering out from a space between a vacant house and a small building beside the school. Zee looked around, careful to not be seen by anyone, including the dismissive soldier. She picked up her pace and skipped towards the small gap, glad to see Nia accompany Sheila's side.

"Mommyyy," Nia cheered.

"Hi baby!" Zee cheerfully said, blowing her a kiss.

"What took you so long?" Sheila interrogated right away.

"Soldier by the check-in counter?"

"Oh...right," Sheila realized, "Did he search you?"

"Yeah…I almost freaked out."

"You had a panic attack again, didn't you?"

Zee reluctantly looked up at her and answered,

"I got over it before it could get any worse. I've gotten better at dealing with it, so it's okay."

"Well...at least you're okay, so I'm sure that means he didn't find anything. Are you sure you can handle this?" Sheila reconsidered.

Zee nodded in silence, hoping she could've been a little more comforted by Sheila...but she knew she wasn't the gushy, sensitive type.

"Let's get going," Zee responded.

Sheila grabbed Nia by the hand and walked further into the space between the structures. Zee followed, confused where they were going to next. Reaching the end of the gap, Sheila made a sudden left and walked through another skinny path behind the building that led directly to school at the very end. As Nia tried to keep up with her little legs, she looked around in awe as if she were playing a secret game with her adult friends.

Before crossing over into the school perimeter, Sheila stuck her head out into the opened and observed for any incoming soldiers. Hearing a walkie within range, Sheila jumped back into the path to avoid being seen,

"Sector's clear at the moment. There was one straggler, but I made sure she left…" the soldier began cackling through her walkie, "Some drop out! That's the fourth one!"

As much as Zee wanted to throw something at her, she concentrated her anger into merely rolling her eyes. Sheila carefully checked once more, and dashed across the open path with Nia. Zee and her box followed. Sheila pushed open the door, which made the loudest creak and then slammed as if its only way to close was through a free fall. Zee jumped at the noise, hoping it didn't alert anyone. Sheila suddenly carried Nia and began to proficiently picking up her pace. Zee nervously stumbled through the corridors and hallways of the school, having difficulty keeping up. She watched around fearfully, haunted by the recognizable voices of her past. She felt the hallways echoing with laughter and yells; and in those crowds of laughs, she picked up voices that sounded similar to Ariel's, Saul's and Reese's. She even walked past a recognizable classroom, seeing what looked like the blurred figure of Reese standing by the classroom door and looking back at her with every step she took,

"Why are we here Sheila?" Zee shouted ahead.

"There's a path for us here."

"What path?"

"Stop asking questions and just follow me"

They ran and ran until they reached the backstair cases often used for emergency evacuations. Starting off on ground level, getting to the basement took no time. Sheila placed Nia down and went ahead to check if the air was safe. Once she verified that it was, from down below, she summoned them. Zee walked down with Nia carefully followed, taking her time to walk down while holding onto her mother's pants. Sheila's flashlight was the only thing able to guide them in the pitch darkness. Sheila pointed to a hole that was blown in the wall, informing Zee that it was done sometime after the shutting down of the military school and that it was a path used multiple times by other Fireflies to escape the Boston QZ.

"Do you know where this leads too…?" Zee asked softly, clearly uneasy about the situation.

She rested one hand on Nia's chest, to prevent her from walking any further into the darkness. Children were normally afraid of the dark and rats that dwelled in them, but Nia was a child who was so use to being exposed to these types of things, she was braver than her own parent. Sheila defiantly held her hand out, prompting Nia to walk to her side,

"I told you, it leads to shed, like a garage or something. There's a car there. We can finish talk once we're there. Now, hurry up and let's go."

* * *

The girls made it to their destined location in about ten minutes. Shoving aside a large board of wood, covering the tunnel exit, Sheila was the first to climb up. Nia was lifted out next, along with the box of diapers. The curious toddler walked off to look around and touch things in the shed. As Zee climbed out afterward, she placed her box on the trunk of the car. The vehicle was a navy colored town car with missing hubcaps and a cracked windshield.

Digging into the box, she pulled out her the two book bags belonging to her and Nia, then proceeded to stuff each one with diapers and clothing.

"You ready?" Sheila asked.

"Ready," Zee claimed, tossing the empty box to the side.

Sheila opened trunk of the car and unveiled a couple of weapons and tools,

"Then load up."

Zee walked off and threw her book bag beside the driver's seat, where Sheila's bag already awaited.

"Shotgun," she exclaimed while walking back to the trunk.

"Shotgun? Who else is sitting in the passenger's seat? I mean, it's up to you if you want to sit in the back seat with Nia, but..."

"No. _Shotgun_ ," Zee reached into the trunk and pulled out a double barreled shotgun.

"Oh, so you're just gonna claim _my_ weapons like they're yours?" Sheila said.

Although Zee didn't care, it was hard to tell if she were serious about it though. Carrying on to looking through a box of ammunition, Zee only saw six available shotgun bullets,

"Just six…?"

"It took me five months to find those six bullets, appreciate it. Wait..." Sheila held up her hand, "Have you even used that before? It's super powerful."

"And that's why I choice it."

Leaving her attractions behind, Nia walked in from the side, curious at the contraptions the adults were holding. Firearms and gunshots weren't anything new. No matter how much a parent tried to their child from seeing violence, they'd see it even more. Weapons in a time like this were basically a growing child's calling. This was just her first time seeing them up close and personal.

"Momma," Nia called out.

"Go sit in the car, baby…" Zee ordered.

"This is big people stuff," Sheila added on to that.

She watched her daughter walk off and do the exact opposite. Instead, she walked towards more tools and played with a lug wrench resting on the wall.

Zee was thankful that there were four gas masks, and only three of them. She grabbed two for herself and her daughter and also took a flashlight. She loaded her glock with only one bullet and left the rest for Sheila since she was now armed with two handguns.

"Alright...let's go," Sheila said, slamming the trunk shut.

They retrieved Nia and they all safely buckled themselves into the car.

Just then, Sheila felt around her thighs and searched her pockets for the keys, she realized that she was missing something equally important,

"Shit…"

"W-What? What is it?" Zee immediately reacted, prone to anything unwanted at this time.

"Do you have your pendant…?"

"No…"

"Of course not..." Sheila groaned.

"Why? What is it?"

"We need those pendants to get into Firefly zones," Sheila sat in the driver's seat.

She rested her head on the steering wheel and took some time to think of her next decision. Finally, she jumped out of the car and slammed the door behind her. She walked around the back of the car.

"Screw it. I'm gonna go get it."

"What?!"

"Look, if I don't come back in the next 20 minutes, just leave."

"Leave? I wouldn't have the smallest idea what to do out there or where to go!" Zee's voice cracked.

She stuck her head out of the passenger's side, watching Sheila return to the depths of the underground passage and pull the covering back over. Zee looked into the back seat and looked at Nia, who wasn't ignorant to the unfortunate things going on around her. Zee faced back forward and shook her leg anxiously. She positioned her side view directly onto the underground entrance, just waiting for the climaxing moment where Sheila would reemerge.


End file.
